River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-03-03
not wish -, nut Yourself in mine.

not wish ~ D. put yourself in mine.
will forget all if you viii set me free. "
"You shall 90 free" she laughed,
/ quite changed again; ''but you won't find
her, if by her youmean my cousin; and
/ if you do, il won't be much satisfaction,
/ for Herr PlOwitZ viii not approve of gen
tlemen, even blind ones, dangling round
/ his wife
when shall be free?
Tomorrow morning"
You promisef"
I Il promise. There Is no great reason
/ why should consult your wishes, but
/ you shall go tomorrow"
And with that she turned and went
away, pale again and majestic rs a
/ Grecian statue.
/ Tomorrow I felt that if depended
I ON the Basilisk / should never be free
again. l should never leave Hanover
7 Lodge alive. had read ,hat in hei
I face, in her tones. when ! had disregard
cd her avowal Of passion.
/ speedily set to work and liberated
my other arm. and speedily east OFF the
bonds from my feet. and stood free, as
+ far as my limbs We're concerned, upon
I the floor of the room.
+ To the window, II was high IN the
wall, but easy enough To get up TO, even
F without the chair which. in my cramped
condition. / had recourse to- By the
fitful light of the moon, which showed
q uncertain intervals a the clouds
slowly travelled along the sky, | could
see that l was at a height Of about fifty
feet from the ground. just round one
corner of the tower ! could see "A thick
/ growth Of ivy. but it was quite out of
nv reach: and even i'll could reach il, !
could not dare 20 trust ms weight 10 il,
/ running the risk % tearing a mass Of it,
. from its uucertail hold on the wall, and
falling. stunned and helpless. prey TO
nv enemies at its foot. There was no
time to be lost, however. The
cords with which l had been bound.
no use. They were of no
appreciate length for such a distance
as l had to descend. The bedclothos
held ont "A better hope. With the help
Of a small pocket-knife | managed with
much trouble 10 tear the bedding into
broad strips-ample for my purpose
and with feveri>h haste, vet very heed
fully. rs one who knew that not his own
life only but the safety of another
rested, perhaps. in every knot.
| made long rope and fastened one
end of it securely 10 the iron bedStead
/ tugged az it, and tried it with might
and main. Every length stood the ut
most test | could impose upon it.
Then | lowered If carefully out of the
window. There was no key in the in
side of the door, but ] piled across it
such articles of furniture Is could
move without making much noise; and,
having constructed pretty substantial
barricade, | mounted the window-sill,
and prepared 10 trust myself to the
rope that | had made Ii is a simple mat
ter to read about. and had often taken it,
in stories. rs a simple matter of course,
that escaping by means of rope of
bedding was as easy a any other form
of exit. But when with muscles
which had had no exercise for long
period | grasped the homely ladder and
glanced from the solid safety of the dark
room to the whispering abyss below,
which the tiimsv-looking rope piercedfor
some distance like a tlickering light,
} felt a strange reluctance to commit
myself to the work of my hands There
was no time for hesitation, however,
the thought Of Mary in TIE power of
Plowitz bani>hcd ali nv momentary
fears. and w:h Il firm clasp of the
blanket let ms feet 20, seeking the
foOt-hold Of the nearest knot Once
under weigh. 8, seemed safe and simple
enough. but ere had got two of my
own lengths down the rope, heard the
click OF the lock above. the jar of the
door sharply opened. and the crash of
the falling furniture. Speeding my
descent too much, | miScalculated the
length of the drop. and. letting go too
soon. fell heavily considerable dis
lance 10 the ground. As picked my
self up. shaken and bruised, | heard
from the window above me singularly
shrill whistle. and = | set OH running
rs hard az damaged foot would allow
ne. there came 4 distant answering note.
which told me that ,healdrm was Elken.
q aAs Siguciiou OF the Lodge.
sTO BE CONTINUED.